Remember this photo? Woman sues the city and two officers
PORTLAND, Ore. - A college student who got a mouthful of pepper spray during the Occupy Portland protests filed a lawsuit on Friday against the city and two police officers.
A picture of Liz Nichols, snapped by an Oregonian photographer during a chaotic anti-bank protest, quickly became an iconic image for the Occupy movement.
Nichols claims she was sprayed in the face with pepper spray while shouting at another officer who hit her in the neck with a night stick. She believes the officers violated her constitutional rights and used excessive force.
"They had no justification or reason to either hit her or pepper spray her," one of Nichols' attorneys, Kenneth A. Kreuscher, said Friday.
"The Portland Police Bureau has a policy of endorsing and supporting police using pepper spray on non-violent, peaceful protesters and demonstrators," said Benjamin Haile, another attorney for Nichols.
The Portland Police Bureau said it cannot comment on pending lawsuits.
It's Been A Year Since It All Began
Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of the beginning of the Occupy Portland protests. Although the movement has become less visible since they took over Chapman and Lownsdale Squares and marched through downtown Portland, organizers say it still exists.
The national Occupy movement marched to mark the national anniversary of the event last month. The local chapter has not said whether they plan on doing anything on Saturday.
Looks to me that this witch got just what she deserved. If she didn't want to get sprayed she should have obeyed the police and remove herself from the confrontation. She gets no sympathy from me!
 @Freedom1267 Looks to me that your making a judgement call without all the facts.
The only thing the officers did wrong was whgen they failed to empty the canister up the --- of the stupid -----!
Maybe you shouldn't scream at the police. They are not the bank you are protesting against and maybe if you hadn't shouted at them you wouldn't have had a mouthful of pepper spray. No sympathy.
 @SapphireRoco
She was screaming at a officer that had hit her with a nightstick.
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Granted I wasn't there and don't have the whole story, but from what I gather from the story was a unarmed women (story says nothing about her being armed) was exercising her right to free speech and a police officer hit her with a nightstick so she started yelling at the police officer and got hit by pepper spray for yelling at the police officer. Yelling at a police officer does not constitute a threat to the police officer. It may even fall under free speech. That would have to be looked into.
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Now on the part of the police officer, they have powers that have been granted them by Federal and State law. They are a part of the Executive Branch of the government which in case you don't know means that they enforce the law. They don't make the law, they don't interpret the law, they enforce the law. That is why they need to get warrants from a Judge to perform actions like arrests, searching homes, searching cars, etc.
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If she feels that the police where acting outside of the powers granted to them by law then she should take them to court so a judge can determine if her rights under the law where violated.
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The Occupy Movement. See...nothing happened. Nor will it. There is simply not enough anger experienced by those who should be out protesting. And so long as people are willing to accept mediocrity and excuses from their governments, nothing will ever happen. Besides, there is just too much on TV and cable to mindlessly entertain the masses while they sit back, and get fat on beer or soda pop and junk food.
 @Mikey Kind of hard to get behind something that hates Corporate America as they are drinking their Starbucks Latte's, talking on their cell phones, and wearing clothes with Abercrombie and Tommy across the front
The police even recognized that police action had escalated these early assemblies into full protests against police violence. Later in the week the police pulled back from the assemblies and there were no further violent confrontations.Â
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 @Icarus So in other words, as long as they were able to break the law without police interference, all was good?
one things for sure, that picture either tickles your funny bone or makes you sick. and the few impartials who would rather look at all the evidence and listen to both sides before coming to a conclusion are stuck in the middle.
 @Phuzz I would actually like to hear the whole story, this article doesn't tell everything that occured.
 @Insurrection  @Phuzz ..where were you when the local TV stations covered it from the first to the very last.,.,,yes, those of us that watched have enough informationÂ
to have a judgement call...
Where ya been... out occupying I guess....
 @Phuzz When this first hit the media, it made me lmao. I was so sick of these nuisances. The one that made me sick was the spraying at UOC
hahahaha AWESOME. MADE MY DAY.  next time keep your big ol mouth shut! why didnt they get the rest of em?
Shoulda kept her mouth shut!
NOTE TO SELF: Â When dealing with Police in Occupy Movement - Keep MOUTH Shut !
I wish the "occupy" stories would be put to "death" by KATU. You're scraping the bottum of the barrel for news. These low-lifes should be sent out of town on a one-way ticket. She probably isn't a valid protester but an anarchist who's trying to be famous.
This is why we need tort reform.
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Winner stays, loser pays like they have in Great Britain.
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This way should she lose (and if she went all the way through the process she would), she would have to pay the defense fees for the city.
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As it stands now, the shark she hired out of the weeds will get paid by the city insurance company because it will be cheaper to pay up a few bucks than it would be to lodge a defense.
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Like the woman who pulled out of a driveway and t-boned me. Then sued me when her insurance company said she was at fault. My insurance company settled because it was less costly than a defense.
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It should not cost more to defend yourself when you are right, than to sue someone when you are most certainly wrong.
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This woman, in the video, is wrong and deserved what she got.
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 @Repoman Love to see it... The liars, er... rather, lawyers suckling at the judicial welfare teet would never allow it to come into being.Â
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Between the inevitable media blitz 'peoples voices are in danger of being silenced', to the littany of challenges in the courts, it would cost as much to impliment such a change as it does to keep things the way they are.Â
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Again, I am very supportive of the idea. I just have no idea (realistically) of how it could come to pass.Â
Liz Nichols:Â "Golly, I didn't know anything bad might happen to me if I joined with a giant mob that was breaking all kinds of laws and yelling/threatening police officers."
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Sorry, but when you joined in a lawbreaking mob, you should expect problems.
 @OSUx2Â
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What laws were they breaking?
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It was a public assembly.
Failure to disperse, destroying public property, illegally blocking traffic, illegal drug use, theft. Yes, the Occupy Movement were very good citizens.
Portland PD, Sam Adams, City of Portland, Portland City Council.....pepper spray. This girl has won the lawsuit lottery and will most likely end up settled out of court with her receiving a taxpayer subsidized windfall.
 @Saltire Well, it does fit the Occupy goal of redistribution of wealth.
Doesn't everyone remember the video... It CLEARLY showed her throw a girl slap/punch at the officer.
So much for minty fresh!
And the funny thing is... not only is she suing... she will surely use this picture as a political art piece in some local gallery on first thursday soon. Mark my words.
The people in Berkeley who were pepper sprayed just hit a bit of a windfall, does this surprise anyone? I would like to know where the pepper spray line is so I can get my share...oh wait, stuck at work....
She shouldn't have been causing trouble, distrubing downtown and if she would have a job this would never had happen. It is here fault, just nother final example of a cry baby trying to get money.
A word from the Praetorian Guard aka Portland Police Bureau:
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Small woman don't you know the powers of the imperial guard are unlimited. You are a small and worthless thing to the empire. Consider how many innocent people we have killed with impunity and you still believe that you can mount an attack on our mighty paramilitary machine for a simple little blast of a food product...ha...we laugh at you. You should bow down in worship to us; your life is ours and we only tolerate your existence...for now.
You used to say semi-intelligent things Icarus. Now your equating the police bureaus political military units. Starting to fall into that crazy, chaotic, conspiracy rabbit-hole. Watch out. Up might be down soon and you'll be screaming at Ms. Pratchet.
 @MacNCheezÂ
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~Sniped from:Â http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/September/12-crt-1111.html
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Specifically, the Justice Department found that PPB uses excessive force during interactions with people who have or are perceived to have mental illness. Â These uses of force against persons with mental illness are manifest in three ways: Â (1) encounters too frequently result in a higher level of force than necessary; (2) officers use electronic control weapons (ECW), commonly referred to as âTasers,â in circumstances when such force is not justified, or deploy ECWs more times than necessary on an individual; and (3) officers use a higher degree of force than justified for low level offenses.Â
@Icarus "However, it is clear that the police are prone to respond with increasing violence in every situation and violence escalation is their primary tactic to resolve any situation..."
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That comment is so blatently untrue. Do you realize how many thousands of contacts that they have that you never hear about, never turn violent and never result harm with citizens. Thousands.
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Your disdain and anger towards every element of the "system" is plain. Fine. Go ahead and continue to hate the "man" Icaraus. Even continue to spout your vaporous lies. But know that everyone w/ tenth of a brain sees right through it.
 @MacNCheezÂ
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I like that response; pretty funny because it's logically correct...superficially.
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However, it is clear that the police are prone to respond with increasing violence in every situation and violence escalation is their primary tactic to resolve any situation; rational people surrender but mentally ill people are killed. The police force is exceptionally aggressive and the power of the police union has allowed the bureau to avoid any responsibility when their officers clearly go too far.
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There is a clear culture that dehumanizes the very public that they serve and this is the most dangerous aspect. Case in point: 70 cops on the steps of the Justice Center wearing "I am Chris Humphreys" t-shirts proclaiming that they're all capable of the same thing and that is just business as usual. As if Portland really needs any further reminders.....
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http://photos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2009/11/portland_police_rally_6.html
Thanks for the links. So we are in agreement that the Occupiers are mentally ill.
 @MacNCheezÂ
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I'm not new to this town. The continuous stream of money spent for negotiated settlements, to avoid trial, in cases where Police have blatantly abused the civil rights of citizens, and the ongoing struggle to manage/discipline officers, and the ongoing scrutiny by Federal agencies, FBI & DOJ, investigating a pattern of civil rights abuses by the PPB, and the threat of a Consent Decree all validate my statements.
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http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/13/us/oregon-police-abuses/index.html
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http://www.portlandoccupier.org/2012/09/15/u-s-department-of-justice-finds-portland-police-guilty-of-using-excessive-force/
I'm sure that made her weed taste funny for a couple of days. I wonder if thats the grounds for her law suit.
What were the feds thinking?  Portland Police you don't need oversight.  Your out to protect and serve for everyone.  There is no way your a bully organization that is harassing people.  You were in your right to spray her because clearly she was threatening and you were scared for your life.  Just keep following that training.  I'm sure one day you will help build that Utopian idea of a peaceful society and you get to be the protectors...
Best. Photo. Ever.
Of course she is. Please let me get a jury summons on this one.
I would love to be on that jury! No way would I side with her, or any occupiers.Â
There won't be a jury. Sam will give her a few million in an uncontested settlement before there's any trial. He's got money to burn - taxpayer money - for all his political allies.
 @washcomom That's why you should not be on that jury: you are bias. Anyone on any jury, should never be for, or against the person on trial. You are suppose to be neutralÂ
 @Keri Atkins  @washcomom Oh that's right! You don't get an opinion unless it agrees with your beliefs. Are really that naive? Is breaking the law okay to do now? Is bad behavior rewarded? This is all news to me.
I doubt there is a single intelligent person in this whole city who would be neutral over this.
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It appears to me she opened her mouth for the shot. I realize she was probably yelling bad words and abusive words at the "Cops", but still it looks as if she opened her mouth for it. These people act like a bunch of small children who's parents have just told them they can't have a toy they demanded. Only these people are also drinking and drugging, among other things that the most of us would NOT engage in. If those of us who are, or at least try to be. good caring residents of our communities, did any of the acts these people engage in against others, we would expect to be arrested. These people take the very "Freedom" they are demonstrating about, away from the rest of us. We would not try to use a park after hours because we understand the closure is for our protection and the parks protection. There are camping parks elsewhere. In my opinion everyone of them should have been arrested and then put on the work crew to clean up and repair the damage they inflicted onto the Parks.
Non of the Tax payers could enjoy those Parks after these people were out of there. So another case of the degenerate few taking away the very things the Working majority have provided.Â
I'm sure this is protocol for PPD to use non-lethal force. If she assaulted an officer she's lucky she didn't get thrown to the ground and treated like the dirt bag she is. I think she should be thanking PPD.
 @MadMax64Â
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So appropriate that you should use a photo of Mel Gibson as your avatar as you spew misogynistic hatred. I'm sure you mom loves to watch you smack the ladies as you berate them in anger.
Apparently when you are told to "move back and disperse or you will get sprayed" was not enough of a warning. Perhaps our state dollars should pay to get her hearing checked...or an IQ test to see what part of that simple statement she did not understand! Gotta love that sheep mentality displayed by the occutards. I hope the Police sends her a bill for all she cost them, as well as stick the broad with court costs.
Just more terrorism from the police state, I hope she gets millions.
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She was in the wrong place at the wrong time. She will attempt to gain $$$ from her experience however. I am hoping that if she were sincere any $$$ she would be awarded would be given freely to a reputable charity,.
It is not terrorism for the Police Department to want to protect property from damage by vandals.
@!!! Wrong! The United States is not a police state. The Constitution of our country has made it such that we have maintained a balance of governement and liberty...right in the middle of becoming a police state or an anarchy.  Even though minor incidents make it seem that we creep towards anarchy or a police state, we continue to be one of the most stable countries in the world.
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The court of law will sort this out. She has the right to be tried for the count of assaulting a police officer just as she has the right to sue because she believes she was mistreated by the police. In a country with a police state, she would not be heard of following the incident.
 @Dirtman Well said, Dirtman. I always wonder if the people that scream, ''Police state'', are the same ones that convince themselves that an ingrown hair is a stage four tumor.
 @Dirtman ....you do know, PER CAPTIA (meaning if all countries had the exact same population) America has the most citizens, in jail?? Yes! Per Captia!!
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Are you saying, america is the most dangerous, crime filled nation in the world? I don't think it is.
 @Keri Atkins I think you mean "PER CAPITA" dear. Of course it's pretty funny to see someone yelling and misspelling repeatedly, so thanks for the chuckle. =D
@Keri Atkins @Dirtman Those in prison were given the opportunity of a trial. In a police state they would not have that right.
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We are definitely not the most dangerous crime filled nation in the world. It probably is because justice gets served to most those who commit crime.